Doffing mechanism for textile machines



April 1 1964 EIZABURO NEGISHI 3,129,552

DOFFING MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 24, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 HEIGHT OF T TEEAD GUIDE RAIL April 21, 1964 EIZABURO NEGISHI 3,129,552 DOFFING MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 24, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 1964 EIZABURO NEGISHI 3,129,552

DOFFING MECHANISM FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 24, 1962 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fwd/0;. Fwd/74 United States Patent Oil-ice 3,129,552 Patented Apr. 21, 1964 3,129,552 DOFFING MECHANESM FUR TEXTlLE MACHENES Eizahnro Negishi, No. 3 of 9 Gaza Nalrasato, Yono-shi, Saitama-ken, Ilapan Filed ept. 24, 1962, Bi. No. 225,536 Claims priority, appli ation Japan Oct. 30, 1961 4 Claims. (Cl. 57-52) This invention relates to dofiing mechanisms of textile machines such as ring spinning frames and ring twisting machines. More particularly, the invention relates to a new dofiing mechanism capable of dofiing, simultaneously or substantially simultaneously, a large number of bobbins, which have become fully wound, off their respective spindles.

The heretofore known inventions relating to doffing mechanisms of this type may be considered to be represented principally by Japan patent publication Nos. 178/ 1952 and 1712/ 1961. In each of these inventions, however, the mechanism is by no means simple. For this reason, if such a mechanism were to be adopted as one element in the full automatization of a textile machine, it would cause the said machine to become prohibitively complicated. Accordingly, it cannot yet be said that such prior inventions fully satisfy the requirements for this type of use.

This may be said to be the principal reason why such machines as ring spinning frames and ring twisting machines have not yet reached a stage of full automation in an optimum form. It may be considered, moreover, that whether or not such automation can be achieved in the future depends solely upon whether or not an invention of an excellent doffing device of simple construction and positive, reliable operation can be realized.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a new doffing device which meets the need as described above.

Said object and other objects of this invention have been attained by a mechanism comprising a plurality of rotating hooks and means for actuating the said rotating hooks, each of which has two symmetrical arms and is rotatably supported at its center on a pivot shaft supported on the lower surface of the said thread guide rail, between a pair of adjacent spindles, the said two arms of each rotating hook being adapted to press upwardly, at the time of doffing, against the lower ends of bobbins on the said pair of adjacent spindles, thereby, while supporting the said bobbins symmetrically, lifting the said bobbins off their respective spindles.

The nature and details of the invention will be clearly apparent from the following description of one representative embodiment of the invention as applied to a ring spinning frame and from the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals and letters, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a graphical representation indicating the sequence of movements of a thread guide rail (ring rail) at the time of spinning and at the time of dofiing;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section, showing the normal position, at the time of spinning, of a rotating hook which constitutes the principal member of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a similar plan view showing the operating position, at the time of dofling, of the rotating hook of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view, with parts cut away, showing the state of the rotating hook and its automatic operating mechanism in the case when the thread guide rail has reached the first point of descent e at the time of dofling;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, with parts cut away, corresponding to FIG. 4; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are elevational views, partly in section, showing the extraction from a spindle of a bobbin which has been fully wound and the manner in which the said bobbin is dropped toward one side.

Referring first to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the textile machine (a ring spinning frame in the case of the embodiment now to be described) has one or more rows of spindles S, which will be represented, for this description, by spindles S S S and S Spindles S and S form a first pair of adjacent spindles, and spindles S and S form a second pair, the two said pairs of adjacent spindles being adjacently positioned. The spindles are encompassed by a thread guide rail 3.

Rotating hooks A and A are pivotally supported by pivot shafts 4 fixed to the lower surface of the thread guide rail 3 at the midpoints between S and S and between S and S respectively. Each of said hooks is provided with symmetrical ends 1 and 2. During spinning, the rotating hook, as shown in FIG. 2, is held inactive in its normal angular position on a line YY, in which position the rotating hook is clear of the outer surface of di ameter D of the fully wound bobbins on the two adjacent spindles and cannot obstruct the spinning operation.

At the time of dofiing, the rotating hook is rotated from the above-described normal position to the operational position, indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, directly in alinement with and below the lower ends of the two adjacent bobbins ill and 12. Then, the left and right ends 1 and 2 of the rotating hook are pressed against the lower end surface of the said bobbins fl and 12 as the thread guide rail 3 is raised. Thus, as each rotating hook lifts the said bobbins of a pair symmetrically on its left and right ends, all bobbins are doifed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously from their respective spindles.

The doffmg device according to this invention has several unique and advantageous features, but only the most important features of which are described below.

A first advantageous feature is that, in spite of the ingeniously devised operation of the rotating hooks A and A as described above, the required movement of the said rotating hooks themselves is extremely simple. That is, the mere rotation of each rotating hook about its pivot shaft 4 through the required angle and its return rotation in the reverse direction are sufiicient, each rotating hook being caused, automatically, by the movement of the thread guide rail 3 at the time of dofiing, or by the movement, at the time of dofiing, of a spindle rail 24 which may be alternatively used, to press against the lower ends of the bobbins 11 and 12 and doif them automatically from their spindles.

A second advantageous feature of the invention isthat the automatic operating mechanism for operating the rotating hooks in the above-described manner is the simplest and the most reliable.

Specifically, the rotating hooks A and A together with the principal part of their automatic operating mechanism, namely, an upper mechanism consisting of the members designated by the reference characters B, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, 13 and 14 which will be described later, are mounted on the lower surface of the thread guide rail 3, whereby the greater part of the said upper mechanism is covered by the said thread guide rail, and the existence of this upper mechanism is almost undetectable. Thus, the invention has succeeded in greatly simplifying the external configuration of the dofling device. Accordingly, in the case of application of this device to a textile machine as aforementioned, there is little possibility of this device interfering with other necessary mechanisms which are to be expected for the automatization of the said machine.

A third advantageous feature of the invention is that such a special device as a kicker for preparatorily lifting each bobbin from its spindle, as in the case of a known doffing device, is not necessary. The reason for this feature is that, during the operation of dofling the bobbins off their spindles, each of the aforementioned rotating hooks A and A without contacting the packages 23 of the bobbins 11 and 12, presses directly against the lower ends of the said bobbins and is capable of imparting sufficient force for dolhng both bobbins.

A fourth advantageous feature is the provision of a bobbin support means consisting of a permanent magnet M fixed to the top of each spindle, a corresponding magnetic material N provided at one part of each bobbin, and a cap 23 for covering the top of each bobbin. This bobbin support means is provided in order to improve the fitting of the bobbins ill and 12 onto the spindles S and S at the time of spinning and, moreover, to reduce the force necessary for dolfing the bobbins off their spindles, thereby affording smooth operation. The force of fitting a bobbin to its spindle is caused to be proportional to the attractive force of the aforesaid permanent magnet, whereby it is made possible to prevent sticking together of the two parts under high force.

That is, as indicated in FIG. 4, each of the spindles S and S has a permanent magnet M fixed integrally into its top. A magnetic material N shaped to fit the upper conical surface of the permanent magnet M is fixed to the upper inner wall of each of the bobbins 11 and 12. Accordingly, each bobbin is forcibly supported on its corresponding spindle by the attractive force of its permanent magnet.

A fifth advantageous feature is that the simple series of basic movements of the thread guide rail 3, that is, its first descending movement at the time of doffing, the succeeding ascending movement, the second descending movement, and the succeeding ascending movement, is sufficient for providing both the driving power for driving the aforesaid automatic operating mechanism of the rotating hooks and the driving power for the operation in which the left and right ends of each rotating hook are pressed against the bobbins to lift them from their spindles. In the case of application of this invention to a special textile machine in which the aforesaid thread guide rail is at rest, and a spindle rail is adapted to ascend and descend, the basic movement at the time of dofiing of the spindle rail which is symmetrical to the basic movement of the said thread guide rail at the time of doffing immediately becomes functionally useful and is available in place of the movement of the thread guide rail.

In order to indicate still more fully the nature of the present invention, the following representative embodiment of the invention as applied to a ring spinning frame is set forth below in greater detail. However, for the purpose of simplifying the description thereof as much as possible, the special case in which a spindle rail ascends and descends will be omitted in this description, which will be concerned exclusively with the case of an ordinary ring spinning frame in which the thread guide rail ascends and descends.

In FIG. 1, the abscissa represents assumed time as a basis for indicating the movement sequence of a thread guide rail provided with rotating hooks A and A as indicated in FIG. 4; and the ordinate represents assumed height of ascent and descent of the thread guide rail. The movement of the thread guide rail at the time of spinning begins with ascent and descent corresponding to the height between points a and b and proceeds gradually to ascending and descending motion through the points a and b up to the points a and b whereby the thread guide rail undergoes a so-called building motion.

Upon reaching a point 0, the movement of the thread guide rail immediately shifts to that at the time of dofiing. The movement at the time of dofiing begins from the point c and proceeds through a point d to a point e, thereby completing the first descending movement. This is followed by an ascending movement from the point e to a point 1, then by a second descending movement from the point 3 through a point g to a point It. This is further followed by an ascending movement from the point it to a and 17 The foregoing series of basic movements can be imparted automatically to the thread guide rail by suitable mechanical or electrical control means.

Since the rotating books A; and A are installed on the lower surface of the thread guide rail 3, they always move together with the said thread guide rail in the vertical direction, undergoing exactly the same basic movements as the said thread guide rail. However, these rotating hooks have the characteristic, as will be described hereinafter, of being caused to stop and rotate by the actuation of an automatic operating mechanism, described hereinafter, which is in turn actuated by the aforesaid basic movement of the thread guide rail.

That is, at the time of spinning, each rotating hook is retracted as indicated in FIG. 2 so as to be disposed outside of tie diameter D of the package 23 and is at rest in such a position that its axis YY forms an angle 0 with the centerline XX passing through the centers of the spindles S and S and there is no interference of the spinning operationv During the first descending movement corresponding to the line c--de of the thread guide rail at the time of dofling, the said rotating hook is caused by the descending movement of the final phase corresponding to the line d-e to rotate about its pivot shaft 4 through the angle 9, and the left and right ends 1 and 2 of the said rotating hook reach positions respectively confronting the lower end surfaces of the two bobbins 11 and 12 which have been fully wound, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Accordingly, when the threaded rail 3 enters into its next ascending movement and rises from the point e to f, the rotating hooks A and A also rise together therewith, and the left and right ends 1 and 2 of each of the rotating hooks press against the lower ends of the bobbins 11 and 12, respectively, and, after causing them to float upwardly off their respective spindles, push them further upward, whereby the upper ends of the bobbins, forcing aside their respective lappets 13, rise as shown in FIG. 6.

Accordingly, when the thread guide rail 3 continues its ascending further, a lappet 13 presses from the side of the outer surface of the package 23 wound on each bobbin (for example: if), and the said bobbin rises with a light side force arising from the resistive force of the lappet 13 imparted thereto. Immediately prior to the separation of the lower end of the bobbin from the upper end of the spindle, the bobbin is tipped toward the side as indicated in FIG. 7. Then the bobbin tips over as indicated by intermittent lines 11a and 23a and drops onto a conveyor 30 at the side, thereby being completely doifed.

Thus, the thread guide rail 3 completes its ascent from the point e to 1" and simultaneously enters into its second descending movement from the point f toward the points g and it. Each of the aforesaid rotating books is caused by the descending movement of the final phase, corresponding to the line g-h, of this movement to rotate in the reverse direction to return to its original position in dicated in FIG. 2, where it remains at rest during the spin ning operation.

From the foregoing description the nature of the rotating hook, which is an essential element of the present invention, will be apparent. A description of the automatic operating mechanism for causing the said rotating hook to undergo the aforedescribed movements by utilizing the first and second descending movements of the thread guide rail is presented below.

This automatic operating mechanism consists of an upper mechanism coupled to the rotating hooks and a lower mechanism coupled to abutment members for automatically actuating the said upper mechanism. The upper mechanism is installed on the lower surface of the thread guide rail: 3-, as previously mentioned, and the lower mechanism is installed on: the upper surface of the spindle rail 24.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, for rotating hooks A and A a horizontal bar B is disposed parallel to the centerline passing through the centers, of the pivot shafts 4. The horizontal bar B is so supported on the thread guide rail 3 as to be freely movable left and right in its longitudinal direction. A certain point 25 on each rotating hook is connected by a connecting link 5 to a certain corresponding point 26 on the said horizontal bar B, the connections at the said fixed points being pin-jointed in a freely pivotable manner. Each of the rotating hooks is rotatable about its pivot shaft 4 in accordance with the leftward or rightward movement of the said horizontal bar B. At the same time, since the above-described mechanisms of all rotating hooks are geometrically similar, all rotating hooks are maintained at the same angular orientation relative to the centerline XX.

The horizontal bar B is actuated at one part or at each of several parts thereof by an actuating lever 6 which is supported on, and is free to rock about, a support shaft 8 supported in turn by a bracket 7 which is fixed to the thread guide rail 3. This lever has a fork configuration with fork arms 9 and It at its lower part and an upper actuating arm with an upper end 13 which is in coupled engagement with a pin 14 fixed to the horizontal bar B.

The fork arms 9 and it of the lever 6 are so adapted that when, at the time of descent of the thread guide rail 3, either one of the said fork arms 9 and 1t) presses against another object and is thereby subjected to a reaction force, the actuating lever 6, rotating about its support shaft 8, tilts. to one side (for example: as indicated by centerline position. Z 2 or Z 2 Accordingly, the horizontal bar. B.which is coupled to the upper end 13 of the actuating lever 6 is actuated to move to the left or to the right. Consequently, the rotating hooks A and A are rotated by the connecting links 5, which are connected to the horizontal bar B.

The various parts of the above-described upper mechanism are all installed so as to be supported on the lower surface of the thread guide rail 3. Moreover, at the time of spinning, the rotating hooks A and A are stationary on their respective lines YY indicated in FIG. 2 and, without undergoing any rotational motion whatsoever, ascend and descend together with the thread guide rail, being of such. simple construction as tobe inconspicuous.

The above-described upper mechanism. is actuated by abutrnent members which are connected to a lower mechanism of the following description. Abutment members 16 and 17 are fixed to a shift bar 15 which is supported on and coupled to a swing lever Ztl on the spindle rail 24. The swing lever 20 is pivoted at its one end about a pivot pin 18 and has at its middle portion a cut-out slot to engage with a cam (or an eccentric disk) 19 fixed to a driving shaft 21. Thus, the swing lever 20 is caused to swing to the left or right for every one half revolution of the cam 19 (FIG. 5). The swinging movement of the swing lever 2t) causes reciprocating motion of the shift bar 15, thereby causing the abutment members 16 and 17 to move alternately, into positions for being contacted, respectively, by fork arms 9 and 16 of the actuating lever 6 of the aforesaid upper mechanism.

The fork arms 9 and it and the abutment members 16 and 17 have opportunities of pressing against each other and functioning only during the final phases corresponding to the line de and line gh in the two descending movements of the thread guide rail 3 at the time of dofiing The sequence of these movements is as described below.

First, the thread guide rail 3 begins its movement at the time of dor'iing and reaches the intermediate point 01 in the first descending movement corresponding to the line c-de as indicated in FIG. 1. At this instant, one

of the fork arms, 10-, presses against one of the abutmentmembers, 17 7 Then, as the movement proceeds further from the point d to e, the fork arm 10- is forced by the reaction force thereon of the abutment member 17 due to this movement, to rotate counterclockwise about the support shaft 8, thereby imparting to the actuating lever 6 to a swinging movement from centerline orientation Z 2 to orientation Z 2 as indicated in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the actuating lever 6 causes the horizontal bar B, which is coupled to the end 13 of the lever 6, to be shifted to the left, thereby driving the connecting links 5 connecting the horizontal bar B and the rotating hooks A and A and imparting a rotation to each of the rotating hooks such that its left and right ends 1 and 2 are placed in their operational positions (FIG. 3) directly below the lower ends of the fully wound bobbins 11 and 12, respectively.

Next, the thread guide rail 3 enters into its ascending movement from e to and the two ends of each of the rotating hooks A and A press against the lower ends of the fully wound bobbins 11 and 12 and, while supporting these bobbins, lift them upwardly, off from their respective spindles. Simultaneously with the beginning of the ascending movement of the thread guide rail 3, the aforesaid upper mechanism, of which fork arm 10 is a part, also ascends, whereby the fork arm 10 separates from the abutment member 17 At the same time, a suitable means (not shown) which drives the driving shaft 21 causes the cam or 19 to rotate through one half revolution, thereby causing the swing lever to swing in the clockwise direction about its pivot pin 18. Consequently, the shift bar 15 is moved to the right, and the other abutment member, 16, on the shift bar 15 is moved into the position for being contacted bv the other fork arm, 9.

The thread guide rail 3 continues to ascend further and, immediately upon reaching the point 1, begins its second descending movement corresponding to line ;fgh in FIG. 1. The final part g-h of this descending movement causes the fork, arm 9 to press against the abutment member 1'6, whereby the actuating lever 6, the horizontal bar B coupled thereto, andv the rotating hooks A and Ag are all returned to their original positions. The thread guide rail 3 then ascends from the point h toward the points a and 12 corresponding to its position at the beginning of the next spinning operation.

At the time of this ascent of the thread guide rail from h to a, and b the aforesaid suitable means drives the driving shaft 21, and causes the cam 19 to rotate again through a half revolution, whereby the swing lever 20 is caused to swing in the counterclockwise direction to return to the original position. Consequently, the shift bar l5, which is coupled to the swing lever 20, and the abutment members 16 and 17 are also returned to their original positions, and the abutment member 17 again reaches the position for being pressed by the fork arl'n 10 and stops. The abutment member 17 remains stationary in this position during the spinning operation.

In the above-described manner, one cycle of the movements of the automatic operation mechanisms of the rotating hooks and the dofling operation, according to the present invention, is completed, and the entire dofling mechanism is placed in a state of readiness for the succeeding spinning operation. Another necessary operation attendant to the dofiing operation, that is, the bobbin raplenishing operation in which bobbins to be wound are newly fitted on their spindles, is accomplished by another suitable means (not shown) in a short period during which the thread guide rail 3, after having moved from the state of 7, through g, to h, remains stationary. Immediately upon the completion of this replenishing operation, the thread guide rail 3 ascends from the point It toward the movement positions a., and b of the beginning of the succeeding spinning, and the spinning operation is again begun.

In the above-described embodiment of this invention, the actuating lever 6 has fork arms 9 and 10. However, the actuating lever 6 may be divided into two parts, each having a single arm, whereby exactly the same function as that in the case of the above embodiment can be obtained.

Furthermore, while the abutment members 16 and 17 for exerting reaction force on the fork arms 9 and 1b of the actuating lever 6 are fixed to the shift bar 15 which is supported on the swing lever 20, the form of these abutment members is not to be limited to that indicated in the drawings. For example, such an arrangement as that in which these abutment members are secured directly on the swing lever is suitable. That is, as long as these abutment members 16 and t7 alternately move into positions of contact with the fork arms 9 and 10, respectively, of the actuating lever 6, on the spindle rail, the abutment members 16 and 17 are able to accomplish their function.

The movement, at the time of dotting, of the spindle rail in a special ring spinning machine which was omitted in the description of the above embodiment is ordinarily a movement which is symmetrically opposite to that of the thread guide rail at the time of dofiing, and consists of a first ascending movement followed by a descending movement, and a second ascending movement followed by a descending movement. Consequently, the variation of the distance between the thread guide rail 3 and the spindle rail 24 is substantially the same as that in the case of the store-described embodiment. Therefore, almost no changes are required in the afore-described rotating hooks and their actuating mechanisms.

Although this invention has been described with respect to a particular embodiment thereof, it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a textile machine of the type having a row of bobbin spindles, a vertically movable thread guide rail and a spindle rail, a bobbin dof'ring mechanism comprising a plurality of arms, each arm being rotatably mounted on the lower surface of said guide rail between adjacent spindles of a pair, each arm having symmetrical ends with a length and height providing hooks which are movable from an inoperative position in which the longitudinal axis of each arm is substantially at right angles to the row of spindles to an operative position in which the longitudinal axis of each arm is substantially in alignment with the row of spindles, said hooks in the operative position 8 being disposed below the bobbins on each pair of spindles, and automatically operable means for actuating said arms to and from said two positions, whereby with said arms in said operative position upon upward movement of said guide rail said hooks will engage and doff the bobbins from each pair of spindles.

2. A bobbin dotting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the automatically operable means for actuating the rotatable arms comprises an upper mechanism installed on the lower side of the thread guide rail and consisting in combination of a horizontal bar which is disposed parallel to the row of spindles and is movable reciprocatingly in its longitudinal direction, links connecting said horizontal bar and each of said rotating arms, an actuating lever for moving said horizontal bar, a lower mechanism installed on the spindle rail to operate cooperatively with the said actuating lever of the said upper mechanism and consisting of two abutment members for said actuating lever and a mechanism for shifting the positions of the said abutment members, and projections on said actuatin lever movable into engagement with said abutment members upon downward movement of said guide rail to operate said actuating lever and actuate said horizontal bar and arms.

3. A bobbin dofiing mechanism according to claim 2, in which the abutment members are fixed on a shift bar and including a swing lever for shifting the said shift bar, and a rotatable cam engaging said swing lever so as to cause swinging movement of the said swing lever, whereby upon each one half revolution of said cam, the said abutment members on the said shift bar are caused to shift in position.

4. The bobbin doffing mechanism according to claim 1, the dofiing operation of which is facilitated by a permanent magnet fixed to the top of each spindle and a magnetic body provided in a part of each bobbin so as to be attracted to the said permanent magnet of the corresponding said spindle onto which the said bobbin is to be fitted and so as to cause the resistance to separation of the bobbin from its spindle to be proportional to the attractive force of the said permanent magnet, thereby preventing sticking due to forced fitting of the bobbins to the spindles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,369,908 Slater Mar. 1, 1921 2,648,947 Haythornthwaite Aug. 18, 1953 3,054,249 Bahnson Sept, 18, 1962 

1. IN A TEXTILE MACHINE OF THE TYPE HAVING A ROW OF BOBBIN SPINDLES, A VERTICALLY MOVABLE THREAD GUIDE RAIL AND A SPINDLE RAIL, A BOBBIN DOFFING MECHANISM COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ARMS, EACH ARM BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID GUIDE RAIL BETWEEN ADJACENT SPINDLES OF A PAIR, EACH ARM HAVING SYMMETRICAL ENDS WITH A LENGTH AND HEIGHT PROVIDING HOOKS WHICH ARE MOVABLE FROM AN INOPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF EACH ARM IS SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE ROW OF SPINDLES TO AN OPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF EACH ARM IS SUBSTANTIALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE ROW OF SPINDLES, SAID HOOKS IN THE OPERATIVE POSITION BEING DISPOSED BELOW THE BOBBINS ON EACH PAIR OF SPINDLES, AND AUTOMATICALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID ARMS TO AND FROM SAID TWO POSITIONS, WHEREBY WITH SAID ARMS IN SAID OPERATIVE POSITION UPON UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID GUIDE RAIL SAID HOOKS WILL ENGAGE AND DOFF THE BOBBINS FROM EACH PAIR OF SPINDLES. 